May 17, 2019

East Turkestan: Report Highlights Chinese Linguistic Imperialism


The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) has published a new special report: Resisting Chinese Linguistic Imperialism: Abduweli Ayup and the Movement for Uyghur Mother Tongue-Based Education. The report focuses on the Chinese government’s deliberate campaign to marginalize the Uyghur language in East Turkestan. China portrays the Uyghur language as incompatible with modernity and keeps on promoting the Han civilization as central to modernization.

Since Xi Jinping came to power, Uyghur people have been targeted by various policies aiming at destroying their cultural heritage. Motivated by a combination of geopolitical ambition and policies to eradicate the ethnic identity of the Uyghur people, the Chinese authorities are removing the relevance of Uyghur from the education system and public life. Through this report, Uyghurs issues are highlighted and many recommendations are made for the survival of the Uyghur language.

 

Read the report here